PATH Act Would Cut Deficit: CBO

The Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act would cut the federal budget deficit by $5.7 billion over the next 10 years, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

“The PATH Act not only ends the bailouts of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA, preserves the 30-year fixed mortgage and helps consumers buy homes they can afford to keep, CBO reports it also cuts our budget deficit by $5.7 billion,” said Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) in a statement on Wednesday.

The PATH Act, introduced by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), currently has 48 co-sponsors. The House Financial Services Committee passed the bill in July.

If it became law, the PATH Act would phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over five to seven years, preserve the availability of 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and require the FHA to offer a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage insurance product. It would also eliminate Dodd-Frank Act regulations that supporters of the bill argue are hurting community banks and credit unions.

“The PATH Act gives America the sustainable housing finance system we need – sustainable for homeowners so they buy homes they can actually afford to keep, sustainable for taxpayers so they never again have to bail out Washington’s failed housing programs, and sustainable for our economy so we avoid future cycles of boom, bust and bailout,” Hensarling said. “Confirmation from the CBO that the PATH Act also helps drive down our budget deficit is yet another reason why Republicans and Democrats should work together to get it signed into law.”